Hot-gas engine heatine head arrangement



1949- w. J. VAN HEECKEREN 2,484,393

HOT-GAS ENGINE HEATER HEAD ARRANGEMENT 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed April 50, 1946 INVENTOR.

Oct. 11, 1949.

W. J. VAN HEECKEREN HOT-GAS ENGINE HEATER HEAD ARRANGEMENT Filed April 30. 1946 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 IN V EN TOR. \JILLEM JANVAN Hnacxzman Patented Oct. 11, 1949 UNITED STATES PATENT G'EFICE HOT-GAS ENGINE HEATER HEAD ARRANGEMENT Application April 30, 1946, Serial No. 666,116 In the Netherlands December 3; 1945 3. Claims.

This invention relates to hot-gas engines and more particularly to a heater head for hot-gas engines. In the usual heater head arrangement used on hot-gas engines, a gas burner is placed adjacent the head of a hot-gas engine, and is arranged so that the flame of the burner heats the head of the hot-gas engine. In general, however, this heating arrangement is not very economical, because the medium acting in the engine contacts only a small surface area of the heated head.

An object of this invention is to provide a heater head arrangement which produces an economical heating of the gaseous medium of the hot-gas engine.

Another object of this invention is to provide a heater head arrangement which is simple in structure and reliable in operation.

These and further objects of the invention will become apparent from a consideration of the following specification and the attached drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a vertical full-section view of a heater arrangement constituting one embodiment of the invention.

Fig. 2 is a cross section view taken along lines IIII of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a vertical full-section view of a heater head arrangement constituting another embodiment of the invention and,

Fig. 4 is a cross section view taken along lines IVIV of Fig. 3.

The hot-gas engine according to the invention exhibits the feature that the heater is arranged to be heated on an extended surface by means of fuel burners in direct alignment therewith. To this end gas pipes and, as the case may be, airpipes are positioned so that the resulting products of combustion are directed against the external surface of the heater.

In order that the invention may be clearly understood and readily carried into efi'ect it will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawing, given by way of example.

Referring now to Figs. 1 and 2, a displacer l is movably arranged in a cylinder lining 2 which is positioned in a housing 3 of the hot-gas engine. Between the top of the cylinder lining 2 and a cover 4 of the housing of the engine, is provided an annular slit 5 through which the space above the displacer I communicates with other spaces in the engine. The medium acting in the engine is heated in the annular space 6 outside the cylinder lining 2 and within the wall 3. This is effected by providing in this space a number of tubes 1,

A one end 8 of which passes through the cover 4 of the engine, the other end 9 passing through the cylindrical wall 3. These tubes constitute ducts containing a gas conduit l0 also having the form of tubes. The gas conduits have a large number of outlets ll, so that the gas streaming from these conduits finds its way into the tubes 1, where it is burned. Combustion air is supplied to the gas in the spaces between each gas conduit l0 and the corresponding tube 1. Thus the duct constituted by the tube 1 acts itself as a duct for the supply of air. The gas conduits ID are fed from the gas-room [2, into which gas is admitted at l3. The flue gases escape from ends 9 of tubes 1' and enter a chamber M which is fastened to the wall 3 which surrounds the Wall annularly. The flue gases escape from the chamber M at l5.

In the embodiment of the invention shown in Figs. 3 and 4, an outer wall 20 of the engine head is designed in such a manner that there are both ducts 2! for the medium acting in the engine and ducts 22 for gas conduits 23. As appears more particularly from Fig. 4. the wall 20 is staggered. The gas conduits 23 have at the inner side, outlets 24 which, during operation of the heating device, admit the combustible medium for heating the wall 20. All gas pipes 23 are fed from a pipe 25 through the intermediary of a distribution chamber 26. On the outside of the head is placed a cylindrical partition 21 which is arranged to convey the flue gases of the burners away from the heater.

While I have shown specific embodiments of my invention, it is conceded that variations may be made in form without departing from the true spirit of the invention.

What I claim is:

1. A heater arrangement for a hot-gas engine comprising an inner chamber having a main axis, an outer chamber arranged in spaced relationship about said inner chamber and having the same said main axis, tube means interposed between said chambers, said tube means extending substantially longitudinally of said axis and arranged to direct a plurality of fuel streams against an extended exterior portion of said inner chamber, air supply means arranged for the mixing of air with said fuel streams to produce a combustible fuel-air mixture, and means to conduct spent gases resulting from the combustion of said fuel-air mixture away from said chambers.

2. A heater arrangement for a hot-gas engine comprising an inner cylindrical chamber having an open end, an outer cylindrical chamber arranged in spaced relationship about said inner chamber and having a closed end positioned above the open end of said inner chamber, a plurality of conduit means interposed between said chambers, one end of said conduit means extending through the closed end portion of said outer chamber the other end of said conduit means extending through the wall of said outer chamber, tube means extending into said conduit means and being arranged in spaced relationship therein, said tube means each having a plurality of openings in the walls thereof, and a fuel reservoir in open communication with the portion of said tube means exterior to said outer chamber.

3. A heater arrangement for a hot-gas engine comprising a first cylindrical chamber having an open end, a second cylindrical chamber arranged in spaced relationship about said inner chamber and having a closed end positioned above the open end of said inner chamber, a third cylindrical chamber having open ends and arranged in REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 650,576 Wickstrom May 29, 1900 1,751,399 Ducart Mar. 18, 1930 1,879,563 Smith Sept. 2'7, 1932 

